The House Agriculture Committee is adding eight new Democratic members and has two more open slots on the minority slate. 

Democrats will have 25 seats on the committee when the last two seats are filled. 

The open slots could be filled by members who need waivers to serve on Agriculture and retain slots on other committees such as Appropriations. There are at least four pending waiver requests, according to a committee spokesperson.

Appropriations members Sanford Bishop, D-Ga., and Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, served on the committee during the last Congress. Bishop was one of four Democrats on the panel who voted for a GOP farm bill. 

The new Democrats on the committee include California Rep. Adam Gray, who narrowly claimed victory on a razor-thin margin of less than 200 votes against first-term Rep. John Duarte. A Central Valley native who grew up in Merced and worked in his family’s dairy supply and feed store, Gray touted his efforts to preserve water rights of local irrigation districts during the campaign. He also expressed interest in building a bipartisan coalition of House members to reprioritize federal funding for state water infrastructure. 

Rep. April McClain-Delaney of Maryland wrote that the “Inflation Reduction Act was transformative” on her campaign website, listing prioritizing protecting the Clean Air and Clean Water acts as well as an intention to champion the expansion of renewable energy generation.

First-term Rep. Kristen McDonald Rivet of Michigan wrote that Michigan “farmers’ interests should be on every single page of the Farm Bill.” She prioritized strengthening the farm safety net, fighting for fair trade and establishing a "right to repair" equipment. 

Other new Democrats on the committee are Shomari Figures of Alabama, Josh Riley and John Mannion of New York, Shri Thanedar of Michigan and Eugene Vindman of Virginia.

Reps. Greg Casar of Texas, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez of Washington, Salud Carbajal of California, Jasmine Crockett of Texas, and Darren Soto of Florida, as well as Bishop and Pingree, served on the committee in the last Congress and won reelection races but were not listed on the roster released Tuesday.

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